Description: The People's Liberation Army (PLA) Y-9 is a medium-sized transport aircraft developed by Shaanxi Aircraft Company as the Chinese counterpart to the US C-130J Hercules transport aircraft. The Y-9 is a further development of the Y-8/An-12 aircraft family. The four-engine aircraft performed its maiden flight in 2010 and entered service in 2016. The FWJ-6C engines drive a six-blade propeller and the aircraft is able to lift a payload of up to 25 tons over a distance of more than 5,000 kilometers. The Y-9 aircraft has been adopted by the PLA Air Force (PLAAF), PLA Navy (PLAN) and the ground force (Y-9LH) with at least one export customer known so far. The Y-9E designation refers to export models. Y-9JB is an electronic warfare and surveillance variant. Y-9XZ is special operations variant. The Y-9G is a pure electronic warfare variant. The Y-9 is also the basic platform used on the KJ-500 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.